Program Design for 24 yr old pregnant client

[DPeezy13]

How would you go about designing a program for said client? I have no experience working with pregnant women, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[SFT]

How would you go about designing a program for said client? I have no experience working with pregnant women, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

How would you? What resources have you used so far?

[Keltron]

Did you refer to the reading material of your certification first?

[WoofieNugget]

Why would anyone who is pregnant hire a trainer who has no experience training pregnant women?

[DPeezy13]

Why would anyone who is pregnant hire a trainer who has no experience training pregnant women?

Does the trainer with no experience training pregnant clients get to start somewhere, or are they just born with said experience?

[SFT]

Does the trainer with no experience training pregnant clients get to start somewhere, or are they just born with said experience?

They start by having a mentor, internship, or actually doing their own research.

[WoofieNugget]

Does the trainer with no experience training pregnant clients get to start somewhere, or are they just born with said experience?

No, but one would think that they might have taken a course on prenatal fitness. If not, then there are probably a hundred web sites out there with restrictions and appropriate exercises that pregnant women can and should/should not do.

The last thing the trainer should do is ask a bunch of strangers on a bodybuilding forum how to train their client - once they have done all the other things. You haven't provided us with any background, context or what experience you actually have, so how are we supposed to help?

Sometimes I think there should be a sub section on this forum entitled "I have a client that I'm totally not qualified to train and have no idea what I'm doing, please help me not hurt them."

[CodyHill4]

Step 1. Refer back to your cert manual/book...hopefully this type of client was covered. I know NASM has about 2 pages dedicated to training pregnant clients (I cant remember everything off the top of my head)

Step 2. Do some internet research on training pregnant clients

Step 3. Ask co-workers for advice, demos, ideas, sample programs


I have never trained a pregnant client so take my advice with a grain of salt but I would take the following into consideration.

- always follow doctors orders/restrictions
-seated exercises might be a good starting place
- avoid exercises involving laying down on the ground both prone and supine


...think about it this way, if YOU had a protruding ~8lb bundle of fragile, delicate-ness strapped to your abdomen...what exercises do you think would cause the least amount of discomfort and pose the least amount of risk to said 'bundle'? Its an extremely broad guideline but its a step in the right direction from "lol, I dont have a clue what Im doing"

bottom line, you need to do a substantial amount of research to equip yourself with the tools to train this particular type of client.

[sonti]

I wouldn't recommend it until you have further study in training pregnant clients. I would refer her elsewhere for now, start learning, and then take on pregnant clients at a later date.

I have trained in 3 pregnancies, two of them until 40-42 weeks. There are so many additional factors, I wouldn't even know where to begin.

Prior health is critical, current health is critical, this changes daily/weekly with pregnant women, she could be in top health today and have blood pressure problems tomorrow. What stage she is at (1st, 2nd, 3rd trimester) is important. Her method of delivery is important (is she having a cesearean? Is she planning a child birth without any medication? Is her goal to have a good/safe labour, or to get back in shape after baby? Or both? That can change training). Do you understand what diastasis recti is? Do you know if she has current pelvic floor problems? Do you know how to safely adapt a squat to accomodate a growing stomach?

^If you don't know any of this (and there is a lot more than just that) then you need further training before taking on pregnant clients. Good luck!

Some pregnancy resources online (training specific)
Cassandra Forsythe
Lauren Brooks
Julie Tupler

*The issue here is doing things that can cause serious problems at a later time too, not just any injury at the time. For example, I have seen trainers do situps with 1st-2nd trimester clients to help them with abdominal strength. What they do not realize, is that this can further separate the muscles and lead to the fetus malpositioning in labour, when this happens, it ends up in a prolonged labour or even cesearean. You shouldn't be expected to have the knowledge of a midwife but you do need indepth knowledge. This is an area of PT which really needs more regulation than it has.

[SFT]

I don't like to say this gender should train that gender, but after reading Sonti's response, if I was a pregnant woman, I would train with her. She has done it before and she understands pregnancy. As a 24 year old male with no children of my own, I have not even been a bystander for the pregnancy process. Although I possess the knowledge to train a pregnant woman, and would do so if she insisted upon it, I would much rather refer someone out to Sonti. This is also the reason why I hope that when I hire someone, the most qualified person happens to be a woman.

My area of expertise that I am trying to develop is post-rehabilitation, special populations, and working with elderly people. I can still train someone if their goals are basic weight loss or staying healthy. I know what I'm good at and I know what other people are better at. I'm not willing to compromise that for a bigger paycheck in the short-term.

[DPeezy13]

First of all I'm a newly certified trainer and no, I don't have a pregnant client. I was asked to design a program for a 24 year old pregnant woman by my mentor and knew the basics from the ACE manual but was looking for suggestions from trainers with said experience. Thanks to those who gave helpful advice, although only a few that replied actually did so.

[sonti]

Thanks SFT~ I'm hoping to specialize in prenatal/postnatal.

DPeezy~ Her age isn't really relevant (I know that is what you were asked), as most pregnant women are within normal adult years (not too young, not too old), the critical part here would be her prior fitness condition. I would assume she is in current good health and not a high risk pregnancy (although of course this needs to be asked), but if she was a complete couch potato before compared to a former athlete, is where you find the real differences. I suppose that isn't too different from a non-pregnant client, but it can make the difference between continued simple body weight to incorporating weights into the routine (for me personally, as someone who was very athletic before, I would train up to a maximum of 40% in the beginning and down to 20% at the end).

Some pregnant women can't even sit on a chair, some (... usually Crossfit lol) will squat with barbells and chains.

Certain movements are unnecessary for pregnant women particularly in the later trimesters - simple squats (plie is good for later), doing wall squats provides great stability. Pregnant women can get quite clumsy towards the end (waddle waddle) so don't feel bad if you even have them on a chair by the end. Kettlebells are excellent to use, as they are far eaiser to adapt to the growing belly than a barbell. Dumbbells of course, are not bad at all. I'm not a fan of smith machines but again pregnant women can be unstable so give it a go. I don't use deadlifts, I've heard it risks placental abruption. I'm not sure if that's true or not but PA will kill the baby, so I don't see the need for it.

I *personally* feel direct abdominal training is counterproductive but some disagree. My kids were 8lb 7oz at the smallest, so really, the work is to be done later.

One rule a lot of trainers use is "when in doubt, push a bit harder" ~ with pregnant women, it's the opposite. When in doubt, stop a little sooner. And finally some realistic expectations - 1st tri women are usually sick, 2nd tri women are feeling good, 3rd tri women are tired, their hips hurt, and they might pee themselves during a workout. So, you have to adapt every session, just in case.

[JoeCannonMSCSCS]

Can I suggest you pass her on to someone who knows how to work with a pregnant woman. Don't try to be all things to all people. If you are not able to help, don't rack your brains trying to figure it out before you are ready. This is a good book to have as it has guidelines on working with a variety of health issues
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/073...&tag=mscscs-20
I do feel passing her on is a good thing because the trainer you give her to will remember you forever! think about it, how many trainers do this? by doing this, they will retrn the favor when they have people they cant work with. I have done this myself and it has come back to benefit me.

Do consider it.

[FitAndHealthy12]

How would you go about designing a program for said client? I have no experience working with pregnant women, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have trained a lot of pregnant women. Don't let them lie on their back, because it puts pressure on the Vena Cava. Don't put them on the baby belly either. Last but not least, don't push them. Work them out good, but don't let their heart rate go up high.

My client just had twins and she trained with me her whole pregnancy. She only gained the weight of the babies.

[Kataz]

Keep them sitting or standing but don't have them over exert. You're basically just trying to keep them conditioned.

[sonti]

Another thing to add (in case others read) is to keep in mind that wall/30/45 degree push ups work well.

[sonti]

Don't put them on the baby belly either.

You'd think this was obvious but when I was 7 months an went for a massage, the girl couldn't understand why I wasn't going to lay on my stomach for the massage!!! lol.